Erik Prince Seeks To Establish Russia Backchannel

Involving

Erik Prince

George Nader

Kirill Dmitriev

Rick Gerson

The government of the United Arab Emirates helps facilitate a meeting in the Seychelles between Blackwater founder (and Betsy DeVos’ brother) Erik Prince, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, and a Russian official “as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump.”

Erik Prince, the founder of the security contractor Blackwater and brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, reportedly held a secret meeting in the Seychelles in January 2017 in an apparent effort to establish back-channel communications between then-President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prince, who did not have an official role with the Trump campaign or transition team but has connections to both Steve Bannon and mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, reportedly set up the meeting through Emirati associates while portraying himself as an unofficial envoy for Trump. Prince initially claimed the meeting was unplanned, and that he was not acting as “an official or unofficial emissary of the Trump transition team.” Lebanese-American businessman George Nader later revealed that the purpose of the meeting involved an attempt “to establish a back channel between the incoming administration and the Kremlin.”

Meetings and Contacts Between Trump Team and Russia-Linked Individuals